What makes up Genetic Inform­ation?

Both DNA and RNA have sugar-­pho­sphate backbones that make up the "­str­and­s" shape. In DNA, the bases that pair with one another make the ladder shape in the middle.

History of Our Knowledge of Genetics

Avery, Macleod, and McCarty

They performed experi­ments and found that DNase (deoxy­rib­onu­cle­ase) prevented a change in a strain of bacteria. Therefore, DNA is the transf­orming principle aka genetic material.

Hershey and Chase

Viruses made of DNA and marked protein coats were introduced to bacteria. The bacteria was infected by the virus; however, the protein stayed on the surface of the bacteria while the DNA was injected and all new viruses on the inside of the bacteria were not marked.

Watson and Crick

Watson and Crick used inform­ation from Franklin and Wilkins's research and figured out that DNA has a doub­le-­helix structure.

The Different Bases

Purines

Guanine and Adenine have double ring struct­ures.

Pyrimi­dines

Cytosine, Thymine, and Uracil have single string struct­ures.

Opposites attract! G pairs with C and A pairs with T. (In RNA, A pairs with U.)

DNA and RNA Differ­ences

DNA

RNA

Sugar

Deoxyr­ibose

Ribose

Bases

Adenine

Adenine

Guanine

Guanine

Cytosine

Cytosine

Thymine

Uracil

Strands

Double­-St­randed

Single Stranded

Types of RNA and Their Functions

mRNA

tRNA

rRNA

messenger

transfer

ribosomal

genetic info from nucleus to ribosome

transfers amino acid to a protein

makes up most of ribosome

3 bases makes a codon that codes for an amino acid

3 bases compli­mentary to an mRNA make up an anticodon that binds to the codon

functional building block of ribosome

How does DNA tell my cells what to do?

Tran­scr­ipt­ion- RNA is made from the DNA and is made from compli­mentary bases. (EX: GCAATT on the DNA strand will create CGUUAA on the RNA made from it.)

Tran­sla­tion- RNA is used to create proteins in the ribosome. Each 3 pairs of RNA creates a codon which creates an amino acid. (EX: CGU makes Arginine and UAA stops the coding.)

The amino acids make up proteins which create our physical features. The stop codon stops the coding and breaks off the chain of amino acids from the ribosome. That chain is now a (hopef­ully) functional protein.

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